A POLICE officer has had a charge of dangerous driving against him dropped.

Liverpool crown court heard that Thomas McNamara, 42, was on duty on July 8 last year and driving his Ford Focus in pursuit of a suspected stolen Vauxhall Vectra.

During the high-speed chase, PC McNamara braked at the junction of Whitefield Road and Belmont Road in Tuebrook, overshot and hit a wall.

The court was told that the officer's colleague in the car with him was injured. PC McNamara, of Warrington Road, Rainhill, had pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and had claimed the crash happened as a result of brake failure.

Judge John Roberts ordered the case to be dropped after deciding the Crown Prosecution Service had not disclosed vital documents to the defence.

But he rejected a submission from Christopher Stables, defending, that Merseyside police was aware there had been brake problems with Ford Focus police cars.